


You belong with me

by A_Lawliet



Category: Dead Poets Society (1989)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:22:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27686207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Lawliet/pseuds/A_Lawliet
Relationships: Knox Overstreet/Original Character(s), Neil Perry (Dead Poets Society)/Original Character(s)





	1. Chapter 1

But she wears short skirts  
I wear T-shirts  
She’s cheer captain  
And ‘m on the bleachers  
Dreaming about the day when you wake up  
And find that what you’re looking for has been here the whole time  
If you can see I’m the one that understands you  
Been there all along so why can’t you see…  
…that you belong with me

‘Honestly, I don’t why you are doing this to yourself’, Neil sighs aggravatedly as he paces through my room. The latter causing an annoyance as I was trying to do some homework.  
‘Neil’, I say quietly, ‘please, just drop it.  
‘I mean’, he continues as if he hadn’t heard me, ‘he’s with that other girl, what’s her name? Chris? He comes to you for relationship advise, for her! For Christ’s sake, Harley, I’m telling you this as your best friend, this is only gonna end up hurting you…’  
Even though I’m looking at him I could hear the desperation and concern in his voice as he said that last part.  
And I know that Neil is right, of course, he always is. But still, I can’t help but hold on to the hope that maybe one day Knox’ll see…  
My thoughts are interrupted by Neil sitting down on my bed next to me, leaning his back against the headboard. He looks over at me with an expression I, honestly, can’t really place before he sighs and throws an arm around my shoulders.  
‘Wanna help me practice my lines for the play?’ he asks finally in an almost defeated tone.  
I lean my head against his shoulder, closing my eyes and letting out a content sigh before lifting my head again: ‘Sure.’

And that’s what we did. From time to time, Neil would let out a giggle when reciting a line. This would make me look at him with a stupid smile plastered on my face. 

It’s moments like this that kinda make me realise how handsome my best friend actually is… 

Some of these moments though, he’d catch me looking, and this was one such moment. He looks over at me, and upon seeing that I’m no longer focused on the script but on him, he looks down at me and smirks. Noticing that I’ve been caught staring, I turn my attention back to the script, all the while feeling my cheeks heat up. Neil’s arm that he’s lazily wrapped around my frame tightens momentarily before relaxing again.

Our peace and quiet is disturbed however, by my bedroom door suddenly swinging open. Neil and I jump at the sudden movement and sound of the door slamming against my closet door. Neil’s arm automatically unwraps itself from me as he boy hops onto the bed opposite mine as he always did to prevent getting in trouble with teachers.  
‘Harley!’ Knox cries out happily, letting himself into my dormroom, ‘You’ll never guess what just happened! Oh, hey Neil.’  
‘Hey’, Neil says, unusually shortly.  
‘So!’ Knox continues, not seeming to notice his friend’s behaviour, ‘you know about that party at Casey’s place where we were going to go this weekend?’ I nod, ‘Well, I asked Chris to come along as my date. And guess what? She said yes!’  
I struggle for a second to keep a fake smile present on my face as I try to look excited, ‘Oh, that’s great! I’m so happy for you.’  
‘Thanks, I feel like I’m this close from finally getting the most beautiful girl in the world as my girlfriend!’ he grins, hugging me momentarily before pushing me away again, ‘anyways, I gotta go now, but thank you so much for all your advice about Chris.’ He pats me on the shoulder one more time before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.  
As I stare at my closed bedroom door for a couple more seconds, that stupid smile still on my face, I begin to notice the tears streaming down my cheeks.  
Within seconds I can feel Neil pull me into his arms. My hands rest on his chest, crumpling his shirt as I cling to him, feeling as if my knees could give out any second now. I rest my face in the crook of his neck as his arms wrap around me comfortingly.  
‘shh now’, he whispers, ‘I’m here. I’ll always be here.’


	2. Chapter 2

And so the weekend rolled around. Currently I am in Knox’ room helping him with his outfit for his date.  
‘No, no tie’, I tell him, ‘it’s a party, not a dinner at your parents’.’ Knox lets out a chuckle: ‘You’re probably right’, he turns to me, putting a hand on my shoulder, ‘Thank you, Harley, for being such a good friend, I wouldn’t know what to do without you, you’re the best.’  
I have to force my lips to curve into a smile: ‘No problem.’ With that Knox lets go of my shoulder and goes to grab his coat, ‘I’m gonna go pick up Chris, but I’ll see you and the guys at the party.’  
Without another word he storms out of the room, leaving me there alone. Sighing I gather my things and go to my room to get ready.

I chose a simple dress to wear with my converse shoes. As I’m finishing up my hair, I hear a knock on the door. ‘It’s open’, I call out.  
The door opens to reveal Neil in a casual yet stylish jacket shirt and jeans. He left the top buttons of his shirt unbuttoned. He walks into my room offering me his usual sweet smile. I offer him a half-hearted smile through the reflection of my mirror. This he seemed to notice immediately as he went to stand behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder: ‘Harley, why do you do this on yourself?’  
‘What do you mean?’ I ask, finishing up my hair.  
‘Why do you keep chasing after Knox’, he clarifies, ‘Even when it’s so clearly he’s with that girl?’  
‘I-… I don’t know’, I sigh, leaning against Neil slightly, ‘I just want him to be happy, I guess, and I was just hoping that hoping that maybe he’s see that...’  
‘You’re the one who understands him’, He finishes, ‘the one who’s been there all along?’  
I nod simply. Neil unwraps his arms from my waist, puts them on my shoulders and turns me around to face him, ‘Now listen to me’, as he says this, I notice how close he is to me, as he speaks, his breath fans my face. Suddenly flustered I turn my gaze away and attempts to take a step back. Neil seemed to notice this however, as he places his one hand gently on my upper arm and the other under my chin, giving me no other choice but to look the tall boy in the eye.  
‘If he doesn’t realize or appreciate the things you do for him by now, he is not worth the pain.’ I could never explain why but something in the intensity of his gaze captivated me, almost even left me in awe.  
‘then what do I do?’ I ask him, in some kind of trance.  
‘Move on’, the hand that was under my chin carefully moves to my cheek, stroking it gently, ‘or at least try to, find a guy that does see your beauty, your smarts, your… everything.’  
‘But I…’  
‘Look, I’m not saying you have to force yourself to move on right now. Take your time, as much time as you need. When you’re ready, I’ll still be here for you.’  
‘Wait, what do you-’  
‘I should go, Todd’ll want some help figuring out what to wear’, with that he drops his hands and leaves the room, leaving me momentarily too stunned to react.

*Some time later*

‘Hey guys!’ Knox greets us, holding Chris on his arm, ‘Glad y’all could make it.’  
‘Ow, come on now, Knoxy, I wanna dance’, Chris whines, dragging him away from his friends and onto the dancefloor.’ They begin dancing to the loud music, but honestly… all they’re really doing is just grinding on each other -_-  
I turn my gaze away from the scene and scoff in annoyance. Suddenly though I feel a hand gently place itself on the small of my back. I glance over to see Neil has begun to lean in closer to my ear so I could hear him over the loud music: ‘If you want to leave this place, just say the word and I’ll drive you back.’  
I simply turn to him, looking him in the eyes as I take hold of his hands, ‘Dance with me’, I say as a slow song begins to play. Keeping my hold on one of his hands, we walk onto the dancefloor. He places his arms around my waist as mine wrap around his neck. After a few seconds I rest my head in the crook of his neck. In response, he wraps his arms around me a little tighter, so that now there is no space left between their bodies.


	3. Chapter 3

Some time later during that evening Neil and I called a taxi and went back to Wellton. After sneaking back into my room and talking for a while longer, Neil moved to leave for his room.  
‘Wait’, I call out suddenly, catching Neil’s attention, ‘can I ask you something?’  
‘Anything’, he tells me.  
Suddenly feeling nervous, I take a deep breath before asking: ‘What did you mean when you said you’d still be here when I’ve moved on from Knox?’  
This question seemed to have caught Neil a bit off guard. He momentarily rubs the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly at me as he answers: ‘I think you know what I meant.’   
‘No, I-I don’t think I do.’  
Neil lets out a humourless chuckle as he takes hold of my hand, though trying his best to look anywhere but in my eyes. ‘I like you’, he begins, ‘and I never told you because I thought you and Knox would get together eventually. I wanted you to be happy.’  
‘Neil…’  
‘You don’t have to say anything right now. I’m fine with us being just friends if that’s what you want. I’m not forcing you to think of me in that way. Just… just take your time, alright?’  
Only for that last part does he look me in the eye and the look he gives me sends shivers down my spine for reasons unknown to me. All I can do is nod and look at Neil as he walks away. I stand there, frozen, for a few more seconds before I bolt out of my room, intending to catch up to the boy that meant so much to me.  
As I enter the hallway I can see him just rounding the corner. My walk turns into a jog as I attempt to catch up with him. It doesn’t take long before I wrap my arms around him from behind, hugging him, causing him to stop dead in his tracks.  
I can feel him put his hands on mine, taking hold of them, before turning around to face me.  
‘Would you like to get coffee with me sometime?’ I ask, feeling heat building up in my cheeks.  
‘Yeah’, he accepts, offering me one of his bright, sweet smiles.  
‘it’s a date’, I say, tiptoeing to give him a kiss on the cheek. However, the height difference between us was bigger that I’d anticipated, and I ended up kissing very much near his jaw. My cheeks heat up even more when I hear Neil inhale sharply.  
‘Sorry’, I mumble, not really looking at him.  
‘Don’t worry about it’, Neil smirks, softly lifting his hand to stroke my cheek. I feel myself leaning into the touch, ‘goodnight Harley’, he mumbles, before leaning down and kissing my forehead.  
‘Goodnight, Neil.’ I manage, barely above a whisper.


	4. Chapter 4

I was just zipping up my red A-line dress for my date with Neil when I heard a knock on the door. I get up to open it and see knox: ‘ow, hey.’ I say, forcing a smile.  
‘Hey’, Knox pushes past me to walk into the room, ‘I’m going on a date with Chris tonight, I can’t decide which blazer or which tie…’  
As he said the last bit, he held both options up. I take a quick look: ‘Black blazer, blue tie.’ I say absentmindedly.  
You really don’t notice anything outside of your own bubble do you? I wanted to say but decided against it.   
Without giving anything else any more thought, he nodded and made his way back out of the room: ‘okay thanks.’ Suddenly he stops in his tracks and turns his head to me: ‘why so dressed up.’  
‘I’m going out’, I say, holding my chin up.  
‘hm’, he simply hums, yet his facial expression gives away that he doesn’t like either the outfit or the fact that I am going out instead of solely helping him with his dates. Without a further not he leaves, closing the door behind him. I sit back down on my bed, feeling a little beat down. It doesn’t take long however before I hear another knock on the door. I open it to see Neil’s smiling face, though as he sees me his jaw drops. After a second more, I break the silence: ‘hey, neil. You look great’  
‘YOU look beautiful’, he speaks finally, his grins reappearing brightly, I return it.  
‘shall we go?’ he grins.  
‘yeah’, I nod.  
Though I notice he goes to reach for my hand but decides against it, opting instead to rub the back of his neck and mumble a ‘let’s go’ before walking down the hall, with me following closely behind. 

He’d led me out of the school and into the small town nearby. He held the door to a comfortable-looking café open for me. He walked in behind me, guiding me towards a small 2-person sofa. An elderly lady wearing an apron comes up to us shortly after: ‘Hello there, dearies, what can I get you both today?’  
‘A caramel macchiato for me, please.’  
‘And a cappuccino please’, Neil asks with his usual charming smile.

🌟 Time skip brought to you by your dearest fanfic author’s charming writer’s block 🌟

As it gets later, Neil and I reluctantly leave the café and make our way back to school. On the way there we talk and laugh about anything and everything. As we walk I notice Neil’s hand grazing mine a couple of times. Before I even realized it myself, I slip my hand into Neils. I can feel Neil tense slightly before relaxing and shooting me a smile. His cheeks have become a light shade of pink, but I am sure that, so are mine. As we walk, we maintain eyecontact for just a moment longer before looking back at the road ahead of us.

Then suddenly we stop walking and I notice we’ve reached my dormroom. I let out a short chuckle as I realize this and open the door. I shrug off my coat and hang it up on the hook before turning back to Neil, whose leaning against the doorframe.  
‘I had fun today’, I smile.   
Neil smiles back at me, ‘Me too’, gently he reaches out to take hold of my hand again, he leans forward to kiss me on the cheek. I feel my cheeks heat up as I turn my head towards him, there we linger for a second before he leans in the rest of the way. The hand that isn’t holding mine gently goes to rest on my cheek. I kiss him back immediately, slowly reaching my hand to rest on his chest, crumbling his vest in my hands. Deepening our kiss, he reaches his arms around my waist and pulls me close to him. I don’t realize we are walking until my back hit my wardrobe, making me gasp and pull him closer, if at all possible. My hands slide up from Neil’s chest to his hair, allowing me to pull on the ends, causing him to groan. After a while, we pulled away for air. I feel my cheeks heat up as I meet Neil’s eyes. He smiles down at me, his own cheeks equally as red: ‘I’m sorry, I think I let myself go.’  
‘Don’t worry’, I pant softly, ‘I don’t mind.’  
Neil pecks my lips one more time before pulling back: ‘I should head out to my dorm, it’s getting late.’  
‘Okay’, I say in a small voice, ‘Goodnight Neil.’  
‘Goodnight (Y/N)’, Neil smiles.


End file.
